Document 3
. . other problems faced by wagoners [settlers] included howling wind, battering hail and
electrical storms, lack of sufficient grass for the oxen, and wagon breakdowns. the forty waterless
miles across the hot, shimmering desert between the humboldt sink and the truckee river in
nevada exacted its toll of thirst on men and oxen. rugged mountains of idaho, oregon, and
washington debilitated [weakened] men and animals. on the california branch loomed the
sierra nevada, a formidable barrier of sheer granite. so high and perpendicular towered these
granite walls, that wagons had to be dismantled and hoisted by rope, piece by piece, over
precipices seven thousand feet above sea level. on some wagon trains, supplies ran low or
became exhausted. aid from california saved hundreds of destitute and emaciated pioneers. the
story of the ill-fated donner party that lost half its roster to starvation, freezing cold, and deep
snows just east of donner pass in the sierra nevada is well-known. the great westward
adventure was not for the weak, the timid, the infirm. one emigrant graphically recorded a small
incident along the trail:
on the stormy, rainy nights in the vast open prairies without shelter or cover, the deep
rolling or loud crashing thunder, the vivid and almost continuous flashes of lightning, and
howling winds, the pelting rain, and the barking of coyotes, all combined to produce a
feeling of loneliness and littleness impossible to describe. .
source: h. wilbur hoffman, sagas of old western travel and transport, howell north publishers, 1980
according to h. wilbur hoffman, what are two examples of how geography negatively affected the
westward movement of settlers?